Of Women and Wolves
by Marital Love Affair
Summary: Minnie Haines, a young woman on her way to Thieves' Landing, is having one heck of a day. Horses, wolves, and men, you can't live with them, but you would have a hard time living without.. well, two of them anyway. Jack/OC  M for the future.
1. Wolves

_Of Women and Wolves_

Disclaimer: The OC is mine, everything else belongs to Rockstar.

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Minnie Haines was a girl who could get through anything - or so she told herself. She had just gotten her horse stolen right from under her about a mile or two to Thieves' Landing from the MacFarlane Ranch, and for some reason no one was around.

"Where'd everybody go?" She questioned aloud, wondering what happened in that blink of her eye when her horse got stolen. She was without her trusty pistol, a semi-automatic pistol she had actually _named_ Betty Jane, which she had lost in the altercation. Minnie was also tired from trudging through the muddy trail that came from the day's rain, and she wished she had chosen a different day for this , a loud growl came through the air, and Minnie knew she was in trouble. A wolf came out of the trees in front of her, four more came followed and surrounded her. Now Minnie wasn't a woman of God - or one of church for that matter - but at this moment she was praying for some divine intervention to get her out of this mess. While the wolves encircled her, she silently prayed, and when they got closer she screamed for help. She knew she had no chance of running away with the wolves surrounding her, and she was surprised that she was alive right now.

Minnie noticed the wolves getting closer and closer, knowing she was defenseless as a newborn fawn right now, she tried to come up with something. She saw a stick on the ground and grabbed it for extra protection, wishing she had Betty Jane on her, and waited for the imminent attack to commence. As one wolf jumped to attack, a shot rang through the air, not only making the wolves notice, but making Minnie open her eyes. Wolves ran all towards the attacker, a bandana over the lower half of his face, and a hat standing up top his head. She stared right at him, still in shock of the happenings, and didn't even notice that the four wolves left were killed in quick succession, as if they were never there. Her wide eyes stared at tired eyes and tears flowed down her face.

"You… you saved my life…" She stated, her voice slightly shaky, "Did God send you?"

"No Ma'am," he replied, his voice sounding gruff as he walked towards her, "It was probably the Devil."

Minnie let out some laughter, although it was shaky from nearly being a pack of wolves' dinner. "Thank you, sir. I am in your debt for this. If it wasn't for me losing ole Betty Jane, I wouldn't be in this predicament."

"What happened to her?" he asked, completely oblivious to the fact that the girl he just saved was talking about her gun.

"Oh, I dropped her a while back when the wolves came after me. I was so frightened, I didn't know what to do."

"You dropped her! Was she a child?" he asked with confusion laced in his voice.

"OH! No, sir, I'm sorry, Betty Jane is my trusty pistol. I am mighty sorry for the confusion, and for the trouble I caused for you!" Minnie let out a sigh, just noticing how she had probably troubled this boy who looked no older than 20.

"It was no trouble, Miss. It was my pleasure to help. The name's Jack Marston."

"My name is Minnie Haines. It's nice to meet you, despite the circumstances." Minnie brushed a piece of auburn hair out of her face, her green eyes looking downward in a sort of shyness. Jack took this moment to take in her appearance, despite her mud-caked clothing and mussed hair. Minnie looked to be about 17, give or take a few years, and had long auburn hair that he could barely tell the length of in her low bun which looked extremely messy. She was wearing the style of the time, a long skirt covering her ankles and boots, a long sleeved shirt, buttoned to the top, with a high neck and a belt right around her waist. Her skirt happened to be frayed and torn around the bottom from the obvious walking through the woods, and mud was all over her shirt and skirt, her boots were almost being hidden by the mud itself.

"Can you walk?" Jack asked, wondering how this girl would do.

"Yes, I should be fine. Here, this is for your help." Minnie reached into her pocked and then pushed about 15 dollars into Jack's hands as she slowly got up. As soon as she was on her two feet, she walked two steps and stumbled, her legs tired from walking earlier and her nerves shot from the attack.

"Here, Miss Haines, let me at least take you into town." Jack pushed, who was just like his father, not wanting to leave a woman out in the open.

"No, no, Mr. Marston, I've troubled you enough," she said, as she stubbornly tried to push her way through the mud. Suddenly, she felt the ground getting closer to her, as she almost tripped into the mud - Jack's arms being the only thing stopping her.

"Okay, Miss Haines, you really are in no shape to be walking into town. Just let me take you, it will be a lot simpler that way." Jack pushed, not wanting someone attacked again when he could have helped. He already had guilt from his father still on his mind - thinking he should have stayed, helped him in some way.

Minnie stubbornly agreed to be helped into the criminal-ridden town, her purpose there not yet fulfilled. She knew if she didn't go with this man, that she would surely get attacked out here again, and that was the last thing that she wanted to happen. God knows, her trusty pistol was now gone and she would have to find another one in this town, without being raped or even kidnapped. Her strength was withered away with her adrenaline, and at least having one good man on her side from the moment would keep her alive for a while. The young woman was helped onto the back of the horse and wrapped her arms around the man that saved her life.

"I don't think I can thank you enough for helping me out today," Minnie stated, a yawn following soon after.

"Well, I couldn't just let you die out there. You go ahead and take a nap, I'll get you into town." Jack said, noticing how worn out the woman must have been.

"I think I will…" As Minnie said this, her words trailed off into slight mumblings that were barely heard by his ears, and sleep soon enveloped her.

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Thank you guys if you read it through~!  
If you review it, could you please tell me things you found wrong with it?  
I'm not too fond of flames, but I love constructive criticism.


	2. Women

_Of Women and Wolves _

_A/N: I'm sorry for not updating in so long, guys. I haven't had ANY inspiration for this story in a while, but today it suddenly came to me. Also, excuse me if the characters seem OOC, I haven't played the game in a while, and this is more or less a chapter to set Minnie's attitude and character in the story._  
_Please review and give me any criticism you can, anything to make the story better._

_I would also like to thank everyone that reviewed and added this story to their alerts. Thanks so much, guys! It totally means a lot to me!_

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As Minnie opened up her eyes from her short nap, she saw she was right outside of the town of Thieves' Landing, the town that was her destination.

"Miss Haines?" Jack questioned when he noticed her small movements, "We're almost at Thieves' Landing. Now I know it ain't none of my business, but what's a young woman like yourself doing coming to a town like this?"

"Mister Marston, I believe you said it best yourself – it ain't none of your business." Minnie replied to the man who saved her life. She knew this young man was just worried, but she was a woman who was just learning to gain some independence, in this, a time where independence for a woman was just _unseen._

"Of course, Miss Haines, I just wanted to see if I should stick in town to save you once again." Jack brought his steed to a trot as they neared the dangerous town, which had barely had any law brought to it since his father ran through it. Actually if he looked back on it, his father was probably the _only_ one who brought law that was brought to this town; this of course is if you bypass the people being shot for cheating at poker.

"Hmph. Mister Marston, I'll have you know I could have saved myself if I hadn't lost Betty Jane from that bastard who stole my Cinnamon!"

"So you've come here to peddle exotic spices, ma'am?"

"What? No, sir, Cinnamon was my steed."

"A very uncommon name for a horse if you ask me."

"I thought it fit her, since her hair was the color of the spice," Minnie said, huffing at the fact that this young man was questioning her taste in her steed's name. The more she thought of it, she supposed she couldn't call Cinnamon her steed anymore, as she was stolen from under her rear.

"You know, you are might stubborn for a young debutante," Jack stated, noticing how her hands were virtually free from work and her skin as fine as porcelain.

Minnie's breath hitched in her throat, wondering how in the world this young man could tell that she was from one of the finer families, "How could you tell?"

"You look like you haven't done a day's work in your life. Hell, you look like you walked right off that steamboat up in Blackwater, aside from the mud and tears, of course."

"My, ain't you observant," Minnie sharply replied, annoyed by the fact that he so easily guessed of her easy life. She was hoping she could hide something like that, especially considering the town she was walking into.

"Pa always told me to keep watch for details," Jack replied, "Now, Miss, are you sure you're going to be okay with staying in this town?"

"I should be fine, jus' got to buy me a gun and a horse, and I'll be on my way after my business is done. "

As they trotted into the town, the people barely took notice, continuing on with their own business, gun shots flaring in the background, and further into town was a scream or two. Thanks to her mud-caked and torn appearance, Minnie wasn't spared a second look, as this was not something that was a rare sight, but the fact that she appeared with the young Jack Marston sure was.

"Now, Miss Haines, would you at least like for me to take you over to the gun store? I would like to at least guarantee your safety until you get out."

"Mister Marston, as much as I would like to say no, I know that would probably be the best course for me to take. "

Minnie hopped off of the steed, waiting for the Marston boy to get done hitching his horse, and walked into the nearby gun store, him right at her heels. She bought a revolver, just like she learned with, and packs of ammo to go with it. Jack, however, got his own bit of ammo, no weapons needed.

"Well Miss Haines, this is where we part ways," Jack stated, his hand on his holster, and his stance relaxed.

"I suppose so Mister Marston. I thank you for all of your help in this ordeal."

"And I thank you for all of your banter," he replied, successfully riling the debutante.

A lowly "hmph" came from Minnie, and she stormed into the nearby bar, wanting her business to be done in this God-forsaken area. Jack let out a small chuckle at the sight, and went up to the nearby place his father had bought years before, gathering his horse by the reins and walking him over.

Later that night, Jack woke up to the sounds of yelling and gun shots right outside his room, an audible grunt coming from his lips as he was fully woken by the sounds. He got out of the bed, and slowly looked outside, his frustration growing as he realized what was going on.

"You son of a bitch! Let me go damn you, let me go!"

"You are going to make me quite a pretty penny Miss Haines," a gruff voice replied, followed by deep laughter.

"The _hell_ I am!" In quick succession, not only had she ripped out of the brute's grasp, but she had kneed him directly in the stomach causing him to double over. Minnie, however, didn't think things through, as the man had grabbed her leg in the process, his face threatening any bit of relief she had felt. Pure luck, or for Minnie, some God-sent angel had come down from above and shot the man right in the hand barely missing the shocked girl.

Even though it was not the way she was taught to speak, a thoroughly shocked "SHIT!" came from out of Minnie's lips, her eyes widened by a fraction and blood splattered on her dress from the man's hand. Her hands were tied together by a thick rope, and her leg was still held by the man's other hand's tight grip, not letting her get away from the scene. "Let me go! Let me GO!" Kicking and screaming, Minnie tried to loosen the man's grip, desperately wishing she had her newly bought revolver in her hand.

As a shadow came towards the young woman and the big brute had grabbed onto her harder, Minnie screamed her loudest, wondering what had happened to give her _this_ luck. A shot flew through the air and went right through the attacker's head when he looked up to her face, and a shriek came from her mouth as the man's head practically _exploded_ in front of her.

"_OH GOOD LORD ABOVE!_" Minnie shrieked, covered in the brains, blood, and other gore from the attacker, as his body had fallen right in between her legs on the ground below, blood thoroughly soaking into her dress.

"You sure know how to get yourself into a predicament."

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_Please read and review, guys!  
Thanks for reading!_


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